Post updated at 4:23 p.m. Friday, July 5:
The City of Lawrence has a $30,000 credit for a drone show set for July 3, 2025, following technical difficulties that prevented the drones from functioning Wednesday evening.
Porter Arneill, assistant director of Parks and Recreation — Arts and Culture for the City of Lawrence, said the city had already paid $30,000 to Lightyear Drones, and that amount will go toward next year’s show.
The cost was $10,000 more than last year’s traditional fireworks show, but the city opted to try a drone show instead following some outcry.
The show was planned to start around 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, but that time came and went. The 200 drones were positioned on the ground but couldn’t connect to a network. Those in attendance started leaving, and around 11 p.m., emerging lightning and thunder brought the night to an end.
Parks and Rec made a post on its Facebook page Thursday afternoon, thanking community members for participating in the Summerfest event regardless of the mishap.
“We also recognize the disappointment felt by all when the drone show failed to launch,” the Facebook post says. “We understand the expectations set and the subsequent letdown. We sincerely apologize for this and assure you that we will do everything within our power to make it up to you in the future.”
Most comments responding to Parks and Rec’s Facebook post seemed forgiving as folks noted they still enjoyed the Summerfest’s live music, food and family activities.
The former fireworks show had been moved to the Douglas County Fairgrounds, which is relatively quite close to the Lawrence Humane Society. Many community members voiced concerns about the animals in the vicinity, though ultimately more than 20 volunteers joined with the shelter staff to help keep all the animals calm. But drone shows have gained popularity in recent years for a number of other reasons, too, including that firework explosions can trigger trauma responses in war veterans.
Meanwhile, despite Lawrence ordinances banning fireworks within city limits, booms and bangs could be heard throughout the city Wednesday and Thursday.
Representatives of Lightyear Drones did not respond to phone messages or emails seeking comment by publication time Friday. According to the company’s websites, some other clients include Disney, Pepsi, Louis Vuitton and Walmart.
Arneill said the extraordinary amount of rainfall the city received earlier this week forced the city to abandon the original planned site for the drone launch. The road just southeast of the fairgrounds arena was large enough to accommodate the drones, though.
“Unfortunately, the incessant rains also impeded opportunities for testing. The drone team did their best to practice between rain showers,” Arneill said.
All the drones were set up and ready around 8:50 p.m. Wednesday — but around 10:10 p.m., “inexplicably, the WiFi and satellite connection just quit,” Arneill said. “The disconnection forced a complete system reboot. The drone team worked with their tech team but weren’t able to reconnect solidly with the connections they needed before another storm came through.”
Arneill said the city understands how frustrating it was for the crowd, “And, believe me, no one was more frustrated and disappointed than the drone team and our event team as we invested a great deal of time planning — and then adjusting to the weather — to make this work.”
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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